Information processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A taken-image display unit displays a taken image on a display. By use of face identification data held in a registered user information holding section, a face authentication unit detects a face image of a registered user existing in a taken image. A face frame processing unit displays a face frame on the display for the detected registered user. If, when the face frame is being displayed, the face authentication unit detects by use of the face identification data held in the user information holding section that the face image of the registered user is included in the face frame, a login processing unit lets this user log in.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatusconfigured to execute user face recognition.

BACKGROUND ART

When a user logs in on an information processing apparatus such as agame apparatus, the information processing apparatus executes userauthentication processing for identifying whether the login user is auser registered in advance or not. Various types of user authenticationare available of which user authentication based on a password is widelyused.

SUMMARY Technical Problem

In addition to the password-based user authentication, the userauthentication based on user's biological information is in general use.The user authentication based on biological information does not requirea user to enter his or her password, thereby minimizing user's troublein authentication. Especially, a face authentication system configuredto recognize the face of a user from a digital image does not basicallyrequire a user to do a special operation, so that it is known as one ofeasy-to-use user authentication methods. The inventors hereof came toconceptualize a mechanism for a user to log in on an informationprocessing apparatus by realizing user authentication in a simple way onthe basis of a face authentication system.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide atechnology for executing user authentication.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, there is provided aninformation processing apparatus according to a mode of the presentinvention. This information processing apparatus includes: a taken-imagedisplay unit configured to display a taken image on a display; aregistered user information holding section configured to hold data forface identification of a registered user; a face authentication unitconfigured to detect a face image of a registered user existing in ataken image by use of the face identification data held in theregistered user information holding section; and a face frame processingunit configured to display a face frame on the display for the detectedregistered user. The face authentication unit detects that the faceimage of the registered user is included in the face frame by use of theface identification data held in the user information holding section.

It should be noted that any arbitrary combinations of the componentsdescribed above and any conversions in the expression of the presentinvention between method, apparatus, system, recording medium, computerprogram and so on are also valid as modes of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing systemaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating functions of an informationprocessing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of theinformation processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating one example of a space taken by acamera.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a result of face identification by aface authentication unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a login screen including a face frameto be displayed on an output apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a login screen with face put in a faceframe by a user.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a relation between a face region and aface frame.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating one example of a login screentransitioned from an initial login screen.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a manner in which a face frame followsa face movement of a user.

FIG. 11(a) is a diagram illustrating a manner in which two face framesare overlapping each other, and (b) is a diagram illustrating a mannerin which the overlapping of two face frames is resolved.

FIG. 12(a) is a diagram illustrating a manner in which a face framepartially gets out of a display, and (b) is a diagram illustrating astate in which the position of the face frame has been changed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a login screen displaying two faceframes at the left and the right of a face region.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an information processing system 1according to one embodiment of the present invention. The informationprocessing system 1 has an information processing apparatus 10 that is auser terminal and a server 5. An access point (hereafter referred to as“AP”) 8 has the functions of a wireless access point and a router. Theinformation processing apparatus 10 is connected to the AP 8 in awireless or wired manner, thereby being communicably connected to theserver 5 on a network 3.

An auxiliary storage apparatus 2 is a mass storage apparatus such as anHDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, which may be an externalstorage apparatus connected to the information processing apparatus 10through USB (Universal Serial Bus) or a built-in storage apparatus. Anoutput apparatus 4 may be a television set having a display foroutputting images and a speaker for outputting audio or may be acomputer display. The output apparatus 4 may be connected to theinformation processing apparatus 10 with a wired cable or in a wirelessmanner. The information processing apparatus 10 is connected in a wiredor wireless manner to an input apparatus 6 that is operated by a user,the input apparatus 6 outputting operation signals indicative of resultsof user operations to the information processing apparatus 10. Receivingan operation signal from the input apparatus 6, the informationprocessing apparatus 10 reflects the received operation signal onto theprocessing of an OS (system software) or an application and has theoutput apparatus 4 output a processing result. The input apparatus 6 isconfigured by two or more input units such as two or more push-typeoperation buttons, an analog stick for entering analog quantity, and arotary button.

Receiving an operation signal from the input apparatus 6, theinformation processing apparatus 10 reflects the received operationsignal onto the processing of an application and has the outputapparatus 4 output a processing result. The information processingapparatus 10 in the information processing system 1 is a game apparatusthat executes a game and the input apparatus 6 is a device configured toprovide an operation signal by the user to the information processingapparatus 10 such as a game controller. It should be noted that theinput apparatus 6 may be an input interface such as a keyboard or amouse. A camera 7 that is an image taking apparatus is arranged in theproximity of the output apparatus 4 to take images of spaces around theoutput apparatus 4. In FIG. 1, an example is shown in which the camera 7is mounted on top of the output apparatus 4 and it is also practicableto mount the camera 7 at a side of the output apparatus 4; in any case,the camera 7 is arranged at a position where it can take images of theuser located in front of the output apparatus 4. The camera 7 may be astereo camera.

The server 5 provides network services to users of the informationprocessing system 1. The server 5 manages the network account foridentifying each user who signs in on the network services provided bythe server 5 by use of the network account. By signing in on networkservices from the information processing apparatus 10, the user is ableto make registration of game save data and trophies that are virtualprizes won in game plays.

FIG. 1 shows a manner in which two users A and B are operating inputapparatuses 6 a and 6 b that are game controllers. Respectivelyoperating the input apparatuses 6 a and 6 b, the users A and B enterlogin passcodes and, upon successful authentication by the informationprocessing apparatus 10, can log in on the OS of the informationprocessing apparatus 10 to enjoy an application such as a game.

Recently, games have been marketed in which the movement of a user isreflected onto the movement of a character. With a game in which usergestures are used, there is no need for the user to have the inputapparatus 6 and therefore the user can move a character in an intuitivemanner. In such a game, since the user need not use the input apparatus6 from the beginning, it is desirable for the user to have userauthentication without use of the input apparatus 6 in logging in on theOS of the information processing apparatus 10. It should be noted that,regardless of the type of a game to be played by the user after thelogin, it is significant in the information processing system 1 that theuser can log in after simple user authentication.

Therefore, the information processing system 1 of the present embodimentprovides a technology of easily executing user authentication by use ofimages taken by the camera 7.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a functional block diagram of theinformation processing apparatus 10. The information processingapparatus 10 is configured by including a main power button 20, apower-on LED 21, a standby LED 22, a system controller 24, a clock 26, adevice controller 30, a media drive 32, a USB module 34, a flash memory36, a wireless communication module 38, a wire communication module 40,a sub system 50, and a main system 60.

The main system 60 has a main CPU (Central Processing Unit), a memorythat is a main storage apparatus and a memory controller, a GPU(Graphics Processing Unit), and the like. The GPU is mainly used forarithmetic processing of game programs. These functions may beconfigured as a system-on-chip and formed on one chip. The main CPU hasa function of starting up the OS and executing applications installed inthe auxiliary storage apparatus 2 in an environment provided by the OS.

The sub system 50 has a sub CPU, a memory that is a main storageapparatus, a memory controller, and the like but has no GPU. The numberof sub CPU circuit gates is smaller than the number of main CPU circuitgates and the operation power dissipation of the sub CPU is less thanthat of the main CPU. As described above, the sub CPU operates while themain CPU is in a standby state and is therefore restricted in theprocessing function thereof in order to minimize the power dissipation.It should be noted that the sub CPU and the memory may be formed ondifferent chips.

The main power button 20 is an input unit on which the user executesoperation input, arranged on a front surface of a housing of theinformation processing apparatus 10, and operated to turn on or off thepower to the main system 60 of the information processing apparatus 10.In the following description, that the main power is on denotes that themain system 60 is in an active state; that the main power is off denotesthat the main system 60 is in a standby state. The power-on LED 21 isturned on when the main power button 20 is turned on and the standby LED22 is turned on when the main power button 20 is turned off.

The system controller 24 detects the pressing of the main power button20 by the user. When the main power button 20 is pressed with the mainpower being off, the system controller 24 gets this pressing operationas “on-instruction”; on the other hand, when the main power button 20 ispressed with the main power being on, the system controller 24 gets thispressing operation as “off-instruction.”

While the main CPU has a function of executing a game program installedin the auxiliary storage apparatus 2 or a ROM medium 44, the sub CPU hasno such a function. However, the sub CPU has a function of accessing theauxiliary storage apparatus 2 and a function of transmitting andreceiving data to and from the server 5. The sub CPU is configuredhaving only these restricted processing functions and therefore canoperate on a small power dissipation as compared with the main CPU.These sub CPU functions are executed when the main CPU is in a standbystate. The information processing apparatus 10 in the present embodimentmaintains a state in which it is always signed in on the networkservices provided by the server 5 because the sub system 50 is operatingwhile the main system 60 is in a standby state.

The clock 26 is a realtime clock to generate current date and timeinformation and supplies the generated current date and time informationto the system controller 24, the sub system 50, and the main system 60.

The device controller 30 is configured as an LSI (Large-Scale IntegratedCircuit) that executes the transfer of information between devices likea south bridge. As shown in the figure, the device controller 30 isconnected to devices such as the system controller 24, the media drive32, the USB module 34, the flash memory 36, the wireless communicationmodule 38, the wire communication module 40, the sub system 50, and themain system 60. The device controller 30 absorbs differences in electriccharacteristics and data transfer speeds between devices, therebycontrolling data transfer timing.

The media drive 32 is a drive unit that loads and drives the ROM medium44 recorded with application software such as games and licenseinformation and reads programs and data from the ROM medium 44. The ROMmedium 44 is a read-only recording medium such as an optical disc, amagneto-optical disc, and a Blu-ray disc.

The USB module 34 is a module configured to provide connection with anexternal device through a USB cable. The USB module 34 may be connectedto the auxiliary storage apparatus 2 and the camera 7 via a USB cable.The flash memory 36 is an auxiliary storage apparatus that makes up aninternal storage. The wireless communication module 38 communicates withthe input apparatus 6 for example in a wireless manner by use of acommunication protocol such as Bluetooth (trademark) protocol andIEEE802.11 protocol. It should be noted that the wireless communicationmodule 38 may be compliant with the third-generation (3rd Generation)digital mobile telephone scheme based on the IMT-2000 (InternationalMobile Telecommunication 2000) standard defined by the ITU(International Telecommunication Union) or, further, digital mobiletelephone schemes of other generations. The wire communication module 40communicates with an external device in a wired manner and connected tothe network 3 via the AP 8 for example.

In the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, if theuser presses the main power button 20 with the information processingapparatus 10 powered off, the information processing apparatus 10 turnson the main power to activate the OS (system software), therebyexecuting the login processing for the user who does not use the inputapparatus 6. In this login processing, the information processingapparatus 10 functions as a face authentication system based on an imagetaken by the camera 7. The following describes an operation of theinformation processing apparatus 10.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown an internal configuration of theinformation processing apparatus 10. The information processingapparatus 10 has an input receiving section 102, an image capturesection 104, a login controller 110, and a registered user informationholding section 130. The login controller 110 has a taken-image displayunit 112, a face authentication unit 114, a face frame processing unit116, a priority determination unit 118, and a login processing unit 120.The input receiving section 102 accepts operation information from theuser and the image capture section 104 captures images taken by thecamera 7. The camera 7 takes space images in a predetermined period, onespace image every 1/30 second for example, and provides the taken-imagesto the image capture section 104. The camera 7 is arranged such that theoptical axis thereof is directed toward the front of the outputapparatus 4 and therefore the camera 7 takes the user who is present inthe front of the output apparatus 4.

In FIG. 3, components described as functional blocks that executevarious kinds of processing can be configured by circuit blocks,memories, and other LSIs in terms of hardware and realized by programsor the like stored in the memory in terms of software. Therefore, it isunderstood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks canbe realized in a variety of ways by only hardware, only software, orcombinations thereof and there is no restriction to the above-mentionedtypes of realization. In the present embodiment, the functions of thetaken-image display unit 112, the face frame processing unit 116, andthe priority determination unit 118 are realized by a faceauthentication application and the function of the face authenticationunit 114 is realized by a face recognition engine, which areautomatically activated by the OS upon pressing of the main power button20. It should be noted that the face authentication application and theface recognition engine may be configured as one application.

One of the features of the information processing apparatus 10 in thepresent embodiment is the support of a simple login operation of theuser. In order to log in on the OS of the information processingapparatus 10, it is necessary for the user to get a user account inadvance and register the obtained user account into the informationprocessing apparatus 10. In what follows, the user who has registeredthe user account in the information processing apparatus 10 is referredto as a “registered user.”

The registered user information holding section 130 holds various kindsof information related with each registered user and, to be morespecific, holds, as registered user information, face identificationdata, a user online ID (nickname on network), and a login passcode inassociation with a user account. Face identification data here isfeature quantity data of a face image of each registered user but may beface image data itself. Face identification data is data to be comparedin the face recognition processing by the face authentication unit 114and is generated in accordance with a face recognition algorithmemployed by the face authentication unit 114. For example, faceidentification data may be data that is obtained by extracting therelative position and size of facial parts and the shapes of the eyes,nose, cheek bones, and jaw as features. Further, face identificationdata may be data that is obtained by extracting difference data fromstandard data of face images. Which piece of the face identificationdata is to be extracted is dependent on a face recognition algorithmemployed; in the present embodiment, the face authentication unit 114employs a known face recognition algorithm.

In what follows, it is assumed that registered user information of atleast users A and B be stored in the registered user information holdingsection 130 and the online ID of user A be “HANAKO” and the online ID ofuser B be “SACHIKO.”

The following describes processing to be executed when a registered userlogs in on the OS of the information processing apparatus 10. In thislogin processing, the user logs in without use of the input apparatus 6.

When the user presses the main power button 20 of the informationprocessing apparatus 10, the main power of the information processingapparatus 10 is turned on, upon which the input receiving section 102receives the main power pressing information as a login request from theuser. When the input receiving section 102 receives the login request,each function in the login controller 110 is realized. The logincontroller 110 has a function of deciding whether to permit the login ofthe user on the basis of a result of user face recognition.

When the input receiving section 102 receives the login request based onthe pressing of the main power, the taken-image display unit 112displays a taken image acquired by the image capture section 104 ontothe output apparatus 4 that is a display. Consequently, a live imagetaken by the camera 7 is displayed on the output apparatus 4, therebydisplaying the user existing in the front of the output apparatus 4 onthe output apparatus 4.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown one example of a space taken by thecamera 7. In this taken-image space, there are three users. As shown inFIG. 4, a square frame enclosing the users is representative of an imagetaking range of the camera 7. For the image taking range of the camera7, a range displayed as a live image on the output apparatus 4 isassumed; the live image may be part of a taken image. The faceauthentication unit 114 extracts part estimated as a human face from thetaken image, derives the feature quantity data of that part, andcompares the derived data with the face identification data held in theregistered user information holding section 130, thereby determiningthat the extracted face is the face of a registered user.

To be more specific, the face authentication unit 114 derives the degreeof matching between the feature quantity data of the extracted faceimage of the user and the face identification data of all registeredusers held in the registered user information holding section 130. Thisdegree of matching is numerically represented; for example, the degreeof matching is derived in the form of the number of points out of ahundred. If the degree of matching with the feature quantity data of aregistered face image is 90 points or higher, then the faceauthentication unit 114 determines that the image-taken user is aregistered user and identifies which registered user is the image-takenuser. It should be noted that, if there are two or more pieces offeature quantity data of which degree of matching exceeds 90 points, theface authentication unit 114 may determine that the image-taken user isa registered user of the face identification data for which a maximumpoint has been derived. It should be noted that, if there is no featurequantity data of which degree of matching exceeds 90 points as a resultof the derivation of the degrees of matching between the featurequantity data of a user face image extracted from a taken image and theface identification data of all registered users, the faceauthentication unit 114 determines that the user included in the takenimage is not a register user. Thus, by use of the face identificationdata held in the registered user information holding section 130, theface authentication unit 114 detects a face image of each registereduser existing in a taken image. For this face identification technology,a known technology may be used. In the present embodiment, thisprocessing is positioned as a first phase face authentication.

Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a result of the face identificationexecuted by the face authentication unit 114. It is determined here thatthe user on the left is user A, the user on the right is user B, and theuser at the center is not a registered user. The face authenticationunit 114 sets a face region 200 a indicative of the position of the faceof user A (online ID: HANAKO) in the taken image and a face region 200 bindicative of the position of the face of user B (online ID: SACHIKO) inthe taken image and provides the positional coordinates of the faceregions 200 a and 200 b and the information for identifying the imagedregistered users to the face frame processing unit 116. In what follows,an example is shown in which the positional coordinates are expressed bytwo-dimensional coordinates employed when a taken image is displayed onthe display; it is also practicable that the positional coordinates arecoordinates defined in VRAM. In any case, the coordinates of the faceregions 200 and the coordinates of a face frame which will be describedlater have only to be expressed on a common coordinate system.

Each face region 200 may be set as a rectangular area that touches theoutline of a face in a taken image or as a rectangular area that isslightly larger than a face outline. It should be noted that here theoutline of a face denotes the outline including the hair; it is alsopracticable to set the outline of a face without the hair if the facerecognition processing by the face authentication unit 114 does notconsider the hair. The size and shape of the face region 200 aredetermined by the size and shape of the face of a user in a taken image,so that the size and shape of the face region 200 differ from user touser and, even in the case of a same user, the size and shape of theface region 200 vary depending on the distance from the camera 7.

The information for identifying a registered user provided from the faceauthentication unit 114 to the face frame processing unit 116 may be theuser account of a registered user or the online ID thereof. The faceauthentication unit 114 provides the positional coordinates of the faceregion 200 and registered user identification information to the faceframe processing unit 116 by relating these items of information witheach other, namely, in the example shown in FIG. 5, a combination of theface region 200 a and user A identification information and acombination of the face region 200 b and user B identificationinformation to the face frame processing unit 116.

The face frame processing unit 116 displays a face frame on the outputapparatus 4 for the registered user detected by the face authenticationunit 114. This face frame is displayed so that the registered user canmove and arrange the face with respect to the face frame when loggingin. Therefore, putting the face of the registered user into the faceframe displayed on the output apparatus 4, the registered user is ableto log in on the information processing apparatus 10.

Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a login screen that includes faceframes to be displayed on the output apparatus 4. On the basis of thepositional coordinates of the face region 200 a and the face region 200b supplied from the face authentication unit 114 and the information foridentifying image-taken registered users, the face frame processing unit116 displays face frames 210 for the registered users. Here, a faceframe 210 a is displayed for user A and a face frame 210 b for user B.At this time, the face frame processing unit 116 displays the online IDof user A in the proximity of the face frame 210 a and the online ID ofuser B in the proximity of face frame 210 b. Consequently, users A and Bare able to know that the face recognition of themselves has beenproperly done and then move the faces to the face frame 210 a and theface frame 210 b, respectively. It should be noted that, if an online IDof another user is displayed in the proximity of the face frame 210displayed in the proximity of the own face, the user is able to knowthat the face recognition has not been done properly and therefore doesnot do an operation of moving the face into the face frame 210. Itshould be noted that, because the user at the center is not a registereduser, the face frame 210 is not displayed for this user.

The face frame processing unit 116 attaches an ID to each face frame 210and provides the face frame IDs, the positional coordinates of the faceframe 210, and the identification information of the user for whom theface frame 210 is displayed to the face authentication unit 114. Itshould be noted that the positional coordinates of the face frame 210 tobe provided by the face frame processing unit 116 to the faceauthentication unit 114 may be the positional coordinates of the faceframe 210 itself or the rectangular coordinates circumscribing the faceframe 210. In what follows, the positional coordinates of the face frame210 itself and the positional coordinates of the rectangularcircumscribing the face frame 210 are generically referred to as faceframe positional coordinates. Face frame positional coordinates are usedto detect a user face image in the face authentication unit 114.

For example, the face frame processing unit 116 sets the face frame IDof the face frame 210 a to “ID1” and the face frame ID of the face frame210 b to “ID2” and provides a combination of “ID1,” the positionalcoordinates of the face frame 210 a and the identification informationof user A and a combination of “ID2,” the positional coordinates of theface frame 210 b and the identification information of user B to theface authentication unit 114. In addition, the face frame processingunit 116 provides the face frame ID and the identification informationof the user for whom the face frame 210 is displayed to the loginprocessing unit 120. Therefore, here, the face frame processing unit 116provides a combination of “ID1” and the identification information ofuser A and a combination of “ID2” and the identification information ofuser B to the login processing unit 120.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is shown a login screen with a user face putin a face frame. Here, the login screen shows a manner in which user Amoves his or her face and body so as to put the face into the face frame210 a displayed on the output apparatus 4. The face authentication unit114 monitors whether a human face is in the face frame 210; if the faceis found in the face frame 210, then, by use of the face identificationdata held in the registered user information holding section 130, theface authentication unit 114 determines whether the face in the faceframe 210 is the face of a registered user.

The face authentication unit 114 can monitor whether a human face is inthe face frame 210 on the basis of the positional coordinates of theface frame 210 provided from the face frame processing unit 116. Theface recognition algorithm is as described before and, if the faceauthentication unit 114 estimates that a human face is included in theface frame 210, the face authentication unit 114 derives the featurequantity data of that portion and compares the derived feature quantitydata with the face identification data held in the registered userinformation holding section 130, thereby determining that the extractedface is the face of a register user. It should be noted that the faceauthentication unit 114 has received a combination of the face frame ID,the positional coordinates of the face frame 210, and the identificationinformation of the user for whom the face frame 210 is displayed fromthe face frame processing unit 116 and compares the feature quantitydata of a human face image included in the face frame 210 with the userface identification data with the face frame 210 displayed. Because theface authentication unit 114 is notified of a user to be included in theface frame 210 in advance, the face authentication unit 114 need notcompare the feature quantity data of the face included in the face frame210 with the face identification data of all registered users, therebyexecuting face recognition processing with efficiency. At this moment,the face authentication unit 114 may determine that the face of aregistered user has been put in the face frame 210 by detecting that theface of the registered user has been in the face frame 210 for apredetermined time (several seconds for example).

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the face authentication unit 114determines that the face in the face frame 210 a is the face of user A.In the present embodiment, this processing is positioned as a secondphase face authentication. The first phase and second phase faceauthentication completes the user authentication at the time of login.The act of user's putting the face into the face frame 210 is executedon the basis of user's intention to log in and, if the user does notwant log in, the face may not be put in the face frame 210. Thus, in thepresent embodiment, the first phase face authentication detects aregistered user who will possibly log in and the second phase faceauthentication detects a registered user who has intention to log in. Aregistered user can be authenticated only by executing a simpleoperation of putting his or her face into the face frame 210. The useroperation load can be thereby minimized at the time of login.

Upon detection that the face of user A is in the face frame 210 a, theface authentication unit 114 notifies the login processing unit 120 ofthe face frame ID for identifying the face frame 210 a and the useridentification information for identifying user A. As described above,the login processing unit 120 is notified of the face frame ID and theidentification information of the user for whom the face frame 210 isdisplayed from the face frame processing unit 116 in advance. Uponreceiving the face frame ID and the user identification information fromthe face authentication unit 114, the login processing unit 120 extractsuser identification information related with the face frame ID receivedfrom the face frame processing unit 116, thereby determining a matchbetween these pieces of user identification information. Here, bothpieces of information received for the face frame ID of ID 1 are theidentification information of user A, so that the login processing unit120 recognizes the detection of the face of user A in the face frame 210a displayed for user A. Consequently, the login processing unit 120allows user A to log in on the information processing apparatus 10.

It should be noted that, in the example described above, the faceauthentication unit 114 compares the face identification data for oneuser expected to be included in the face frame 210 with the featurequantity data of a face included in the face frame 210; it is alsopracticable to compare the face identification data of all registeredusers with the feature quantity data of the face included in the faceframe 210. As a result, the face authentication unit 114 may sometimesdetects the face of a registered user other than user A in the faceframe 210 a displayed for user A. The face authentication unit 114notifies the login processing unit 120 of the user identificationinformation for identifying the user included in the face frame 210 andthe face frame ID, and the login processing unit 120 compares thenotified face frame ID and identification information with the faceframe ID and the identification information of the user for whom theface frame 210 is displayed that are in advance received from the faceframe processing unit 116 in advance. If, for the same face frame ID,the identification information of a user for whom the face frame 210 isdisplayed and the identification information of a user actually detectedin the face frame 210 are different from each other, namely, if the faceof a registered user other than user A is detected in the face frame 210a displayed for user A, then the login processing unit 120 determinesthat the face image detected in the face frame 210 a is not the face ofuser A and thus does not allow user A or a registered user whose face isin the face frame 210 a to log in.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the login controller 110allows a registered user to log in after the user authentication of twophases of face authentication. For example, in the first phase faceauthentication processing, after a human face is detected in the firsttaken image and whether or not the detected face is that of a registereduser is determined, no face authentication processing need be executedunless a new user is imaged. It should be noted that, in this case, theface of a detected person is traced in a taken image and the positionalcoordinates of the face image in the taken image are constantly providedto the face frame processing unit 116. It should also be noted that faceauthentication may be executed in a predetermined period and the face ofthe detected person may be traced in a time zone in which faceauthentication is not executed. After one registered user logs in by thesecond phase face authentication processing, if there is anotherregistered user who has not logged in but has been imaged, the loginscreen may be kept displayed until the registered user logs in. At thismoment, it is desirable for the face frame processing unit 116 to deletethe face frame 210 displayed for the login user from the outputapparatus 4. It should be noted that, if the number of registered userswho can log in by this face authentication is restricted to one person,then, after login of one registered user, the login screen may betransitioned to the home screen for example provided by the OS of theinformation processing apparatus 10. It should also be noted, if, afterthe face frame 210 is displayed in the login screen, the faceauthentication unit 114 cannot detect any face in the face frame 210 fora predetermined period of time, then the login processing by faceauthentication may be ended to transition to the login processing by useof the input apparatus 6. If the user does not want the login processingby face authentication, then the login processing by the faceauthentication may be ended, for example using the input apparatus 6, totransition to the login processing by use of the input apparatus 6.

The information processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment allowseach user to log in by the face authentication made up of two phases.The following describes display modes of the face frame 210. It shouldbe noted that, in FIGS. 8 through 13, only the faces of registered usersA and B included in a taken image are displayed and the display of thebody parts other than the face and other users is omitted for thepurpose of illustration.

The face frame processing unit 116 displays the face frame 210 for aregistered user on the basis of the positional coordinates of the faceregion 200 a and face region 200 b provided from the face authenticationunit 114 and the information for identifying an image-taken registereduser. The positional coordinates of the face region 200 provided fromthe face authentication unit 114 may be the coordinate values of fourvertices of the face region 200 set as a rectangle for example.

Referring to FIG. 8, there is shown a relation between the face region200 and the face frame 210. It should be noted that, in the outputapparatus 4, the dashed lines indicative of the face region 200 are notactually displayed; however, here, in order to describe the relationbetween the face region 200 and the face frame 210, the dashed lines ofthe face region 200 are displayed. It should be noted that it does notnecessarily mean that the dashed lines of the face region 200 should notbe displayed; needless to say, these lines may be displayed.

The face frame processing unit 116 displays the face frame 210 at alocation where it is easy for a user to put in his or her face and, ifthe user has no intention to put in his or her face, the face is notentered. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the face frame processing unit116 arranges the face frame 210 such that part of the face frame 210overlaps the face image of a registered user displayed on the outputapparatus 4. Consequently, the face frame 210 is arranged at a locationwhere it is easy for the user to put in his or her face and, at the sametime, a registered user can easily recognize which face frame 210 he orshe is to put the face in. In addition, the face frame processing unit116 displays the face frame 210 at a predetermined angle relative to thevertical direction of the face region 200. This prevents a user fromputting his or her face in the face frame 210 unless the userintentionally tilts the head, thereby reducing the possibility ofaccidental entering of the face of a user not intended for login intothe face frame 210.

In accordance with the size of the face image of a registered userdetected in the login screen, namely, the size of the face region 200,the face frame processing unit 116 sets the size of the face frame 210.The size of the face frame 210 may be the same as the size of the faceregion 200; it is desirable for the size of the face region 200 at leastto fit in the face frame 210. Because the face frame 210 is displayed atan angle relative to the face region 200, displaying the face frame 210slightly larger than the face region 200 facilitates a user to put hisor her entire face into the face frame 210.

It should be noted that the face frame processing unit 116 may determinethe display position of the face frame 210 on the basis of user physicalfeatures. For example, there is a stroke difference in head tiltingbetween short and tall persons; namely, a tall person can tilt his orher head more largely than a short person. Therefore, the registereduser information holding section 130 may hold the height of each user asregistered user information in advance and the face frame processingunit 116 may determine the angle of the face frame 210 relative to thevertical direction of the face region 200 in accordance with the heightof each registered user. In this case, the setting is made such that thetilt angle of the face frame 210 is larger for a taller person than asmaller person. It is also set that the ratio of overlapping between theface frame 210 and the face region 200 is smaller for a taller personthan a smaller person. Thus, the face frame processing unit 116 maydetermine the display location of the face frame 210 for each registereduser on the basis of the physical features of each registered user.

Further, in displaying the face frame 210 for two or more registeredusers, the face frame processing unit 116 displays two or more faceframes 210 such that these face frames 210 do not overlap with eachother. In the example shown in FIG. 8, the face frame 210 a for user Aand the face frame 210 b for user B are not overlapping with each other.If there is an overlap between the face frame 210 a and the face frame210 b, then, if user A and user B want to put the faces thereof into theface frame 210 a and the face frame 210 b, respectively, there is apossibility of collision of their heads. Therefore, it is desirable todisplay two or more face frames 210 without overlapping with each other.

In order to display two or more face frames 210 so as not to overlapeach other, the face frame processing unit 116 derives the barycentriccoordinates of the two or more face regions 200. The face frameprocessing unit 116 derives the barycentric coordinates of each faceregion 200 and then derives the barycentric coordinates of two or moreface regions 200 from the barycentric coordinates of each face region200. If the barycentric coordinates of the face region 200 are locatedon the right side of this derived barycentric coordinates, the faceframe 210 is displayed on the right side of the face region 200; if thebarycentric coordinates of the face region 200 are located on the leftside of the barycentric coordinates of the two or more face regions 200,the face frame 210 is displayed on the left side of the face region 200.In the example shown in FIG. 8, the face frame 210 a is displayed on theleft side of the face region 200 a and tilted toward the left side; andthe face frame 210 b is located on the right side of the face region 200b and tilted toward the right side. This arrangement allows the faceframe processing unit 116 to display two or more face frames 210 withoutoverlapping with each other. It should be noted that a method ofderiving the barycentric coordinates of two or more face regions 200 isnot restricted to that mentioned above; for example, the barycentriccoordinates of two or more face regions 200 may be derived by use of thecentral coordinates of each face region 200 or the horizontalbarycentric coordinates of two or more face regions 200 may be derivedby use of the left-end coordinates or the right-end coordinates of eachface region 200.

It should be noted that what has been described so far is basically theprocessing for displaying an initial login screen. After the face frame210 is displayed for each user, each user may move inside an imagedrange. If this happens, the barycentric coordinates of each face region200 change and then the barycentric coordinates of two or more faceregions 200 change accordingly; however, if there is no overlappingbetween the face frames 210, the position of the face frame 210 setinitially is maintained, namely, there is no change in the position ofthe face frame 210. If, after displaying the initial login screen,control is performed such that the display position of the face frame210 is determined with reference to the horizontal axis coordinate valueof the barycentric coordinates of two or more face regions 200 and, ifthe face region 200 of one user exists in the proximity of thehorizontal axis coordinate value of the barycentric coordinates of twoor more face regions 200, then repeating movements extending over thecoordinate value from that position displays the face frame 210alternately between the right side and the left side. In order to avoidsuch a situation, the face frame processing unit 116, if right-sidedisplay or left-side display of the face frame 210 with respect to theface region 200 is once determined, maintains the determined displayposition unless there occurs overlapping with another face frame 210.

Referring to FIG. 9, there is shown one example of a login screentransitioned from the initial login screen. Here, for the convenience ofdescription, the face image of user B is not shown; actually, however,the face of user B may be displayed in the login screen.

In this login screen, the face authentication unit 114 cannot detectuser B in a taken image and therefore cannot set the face region 200 b.Since undetection of user B is partially due to the face identificationaccuracy of the face authentication unit 114, even if the faceauthentication unit 114 cannot detect user B, it does not necessarilymean that user B has framed out of the camera 7. Therefore, even if userB is not detected by the face authentication unit 114 underpredetermined conditions, the face frame processing unit 116 continuesdisplaying the face frame 210 b once displayed. Consequently, in thecase where the face authentication unit 114 alternates betweensuccessful detection and unsuccessful detection of user B, thealternation between display and non-display of the face frame 210 b canbe avoided. It should be noted that, if the face authentication unit 114detects the face image of user B in the face frame 210 b, the loginprocessing unit 120 may allow user B to log in. If the face frameprocessing unit 116 is notified by the face authentication unit 114 thatuser B has not been detected, the face frame processing unit 116 maymake the display manner of the face frame 210 b be different from thatof the face frame 210 a to which the face region 200 a is set. Forexample, the face frame 210 b may be displayed in a blinking manner.This allows user B to know that, even if he or she enters the face intothe face frame 210 b, user B cannot login in at that moment.

It has been described in the above that, even if user B is not detected,the face frame 210 b is kept displayed under predetermined conditions.The following describes these predetermined conditions.

First, as one predetermined condition, in displaying the face frame 210for two or more registered users, the face frame processing unit 116restricts the number of face frames 210 to be displayed to apredetermined value. This is because it is difficult to display manyface frames 210 on the output apparatus 4. Even if many face frames 210can be displayed, it is predicted that a user's head tilting operationbecomes difficult since the face frames 210 are too close to each other.Therefore, the upper limit of the number of face frames 210 is set four,for example, and even if five or more registered users are detected in ataken image by the face authentication unit 114, the face frameprocessing unit 116 displays the face frames 210 for four persons.

At this time, it is necessary for the face frame processing unit 116 todetermine which user's face frame 210 is to be displayed. In order toprovide the criterion for this determination, the priority determinationunit 118 determines the priority in displaying of the face frame 210 fortwo or more image-taken registered users. This priority is determined asfollows.

(a) First, the priority of the registered users included in the initiallogin screen is determined. If users A and B are included in the initiallogin screen, then the priority determination unit 118 may determinethat the user A or B to be the first whichever is greater in the numberof logins and the second whichever is smaller. For example, if thenumber of logins of user B is greater than that of user A, then user Bis the first and user A is the second. It should be noted that thepriority determination unit 118 may determine the priority of a userhaving the greater face region 200 to be higher. The prioritydetermination unit 118 may make comparison between the areas of two ormore face regions 200 set by the face authentication unit 114 todetermine the priority of the user of the greater face region 200 to behigher. If the camera 7 is a stereo camera, the distance between theuser and the camera 7 can be measured, so that the prioritydetermination unit 118 may determine the priority of the user whosedistance from the camera 7 is shorter to be higher.(b) Next, the priority of a registered user included in the login screenafter displaying of the initial login screen is determined to be higher.That is, the priority determination unit 118 determines the priority ofa registered user newly imaged by the camera 7 to be the first andlowers the priority of a registered user already imaged by one step.Therefore, if user C is newly imaged by the camera 7, user C is thefirst, user B is the second, and user C is the third. Thus, the prioritydetermination unit 118 sets the criterion of (b) over (a) and sets thepriority of the user newly recognized by the face authentication unit114 to be higher.

The priority determination unit 118 determines the priorities of theregistered users imaged by the camera 7; assume here that as a result ofnew image-taking of users D and E, the priority of user B falls to thefourth. Then, at this moment, the priority of user A is the fifth andthe face frame processing unit 116 displays the face frame 210 for usersB, C, D, and E each set to one of the first through fourth. If user B isnot detected by the face authentication unit 114, the face frameprocessing unit 116 erases the face frame 210 b of user B and displaysthe face frame 210 a of user A. The priority determination unit 118drops the priority of the user not detected by the face authenticationunit 114 to the lowest, thereby determining display priorities.

As described above, the priority determination unit 118 determines thepriority for displaying the face frame 210 for two or more image-takenregistered users and the face frame processing unit 116 displays theface frame 210 within the predetermined upper limit range in accordancewith the priority determined by the priority determination unit 118.

As described above, the condition under which the face frame 210 b iskept displayed in the login screen shown in FIG. 9 is that four or moreregistered users are not detected in this login screen; as long as sucha condition is satisfied, the face frame processing unit 116 continuesto display the face frame 210 b.

Referring to FIG. 10, there is shown a manner in which the face frame210 follows the movement of a user face. A user is expected to dovarious movements within the image-taking range of the camera 7. Onemovement is for logging in, namely, a movement for putting the face intothe face frame 210; separate from such a login operation, a usersometimes simply moves, sits down, and gets up, none of which beinglogin operations.

If the movement of a user face is not a login operation, then the faceframe processing unit 116 makes the face frame 210 follow the movementof the user face and displays the face frame 210 accordingly. The faceframe processing unit 116 determines whether the movement of thebarycentric coordinates of the face region 200 is in the direction inwhich the movement approaches to the barycentric coordinates of the faceframe 210. At this moment, if the barycentric coordinates of the faceregion 200 are found moving in the direction of approaching thebarycentric coordinates of the face frame 210, then the face frameprocessing unit 116 determines that the movement of the user face is alogin operation and maintains the position of the face frame 210, namelydoes not change the position. On the other hand, if the barycentriccoordinates of the face region 200 are found moving in the direction ofleaving from the barycentric coordinates of the face frame 210, the faceframe processing unit 116 determines that the movement of the user faceis not a login operation and makes the face frame 210 follow themovement of the face region 200, displaying the face frame 210accordingly. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the face of user B ismoving leftward with the face frame 210 of user B getting out to theright side, so that the face frame processing unit 116 determines thatthe movement of the face of user B is not a login operation, therebymaking the face frame 210 b follow the movement of the face region 200b.

It should be noted that, as described before, the face frame 210 isdisplayed such that part thereof overlaps the face region 200. Hence,even if the positional relation between the face frame 210 and the faceregion 200 is slightly deviated, still the user is able to put the faceinto the face frame 210 with ease. Therefore, even if the face region200 moves, as long as part of the face frame 210 is overlapped with theface region 200, the face frame processing unit 116 may not change theposition of the face frame 210 and, when the overlapping is cleared,make the face frame 210 follow the face region 200.

In the configuration described above, the attention is directed to theuser movements that are lateral relative to the camera 7; however, theuser may move in the front-back direction relative to the camera 7. Asthe user moves toward the camera 7, the face image of the user getslarger in the login screen, while, when the user moves away from thecamera 7, the face image of the user gets smaller in the login screen.If the change in the size of the face region 200 exceeds a predeterminedratio, the face frame processing unit 116 determines that the movementof the user face is not a login operation, upon which the face frameprocessing unit 116 may make the face frame 210 follow the movement ofthe user face and reset the size and display position of the face frame210, thereby displaying the reset face frame 210. Thus, by making theface frame 210 follow not only the movement of the user face image inthe lateral direction but also the movement of the user face image inthe front-back direction and displaying the face frame 210 accordingly,the face frame processing unit 116 can facilitate for the user toexecute a login operation.

Referring to FIG. 11(a), there is shown a state in which two face frames210 are overlapping each other. This state is caused as a result of themovements of user A to the right direction and user B to the leftdirection relative to the camera 7 after the initial login screen isdisplayed. As described, the overlapping of two or more face frames 210is not allowed, so that the face frame processing unit 116 must avoidthe situation shown in FIG. 11(a).

Referring to FIG. 11(b), there is shown a state in which the face frame210 b of user B is arranged to the left side. The face frame processingunit 116 changes the arrangement of the face frame 210 in accordancewith the priority specified by the priority determination unit 118. Tobe more specific, if two face frames 210 overlap with each other, theface frame processing unit 116 resets the position of the face frame 210of the user having a lower priority such that this face frame 210 willnot overlap the face frame 210 of the user having a higher priority. Ithas been already described that the priority determination unit 118determines the priority in displaying the face frame 210 in accordancewith the sequence of image-taken users and the size of the face region200. Attention being directed to the size of the face region 200, thesize of the face region 200 changes due to the front-back movement ofthe user. Therefore, the priority determination unit 118 sequentiallysets priorities depending on the size of the face image at the moment.Here, because the face region 200 a of user A is larger than the faceregion 200 b of user B, the priority determination unit 118 sets thepriority of the face frame 210 a higher than the face frame 210 b.Therefore, the face frame processing unit 116 displays the face frame210 b at a position where there is no overlap with the face frame 210 awithout moving the face frame 210 a, thereby avoiding the overlapbetween the face frame 210 a and face frame 210 b.

It should be noted that if, as a result of relocating the face frame 210b to the left side of the face region 200 b, there occurs an overlapwith the face frame 210 of another user, comparison in priority is madewith the face frame 210 of that another user. For example, if it becomesnecessary to further relocate the face frame 210 but the relocationcauses an overlap with the face frame 210 having higher priority or, aswill be described later with reference to FIG. 12, causes partialgetting out of the display, then the face frame processing unit 116discontinues the displaying of that face frame 210.

Referring to FIG. 12(a), there is shown a state in which the face frame210 partially gets out of the display in the login screen. As describedwith reference to the initial login screen, if the face frame processingunit 116 determines the display positions of the face frames 210 a and210 b relative to the face regions 200 a and 200 b with reference to thebarycentric coordinates of two or more face regions 200, the face frame210 a is arranged on the left side of the face region 200 a. However, asshown in FIG. 12(a), the face frame 210 a may partially get out of thedisplay.

Therefore, if the face frame 210 partially gets out of the display andcannot be displayed in the entirety thereof, the face frame processingunit 116 displays the face frame 210 on the opposite side of the faceregion 200.

Referring to FIG. 12(b), there is shown a state in which the displayposition of the face frame 210 is changed. As shown, it is desirable forthe face frame processing unit 116 to determine the display position ofthe face frame 210 such that the entirety of the face frame 210 isdisplayed on the display.

While one preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed using specific terms, such description is for illustrativepurpose only, and it is to be understood by those skilled in the artthat various changes and variations may be made in each component and aprocessing process or a combination thereof without departing from thespirit or scope of the present invention.

It was described that, in the embodiment, if, as a result of thecomputation of degree of matching by the face authentication unit 114,there are two or more ones whose degree of matching is 90 points ormore, the face authentication unit 114 determines that the image-takenuser is a registered user who derived a maximum point, upon which theface frame processing unit 116 displays one face frame 210 in theproximity of the face region 200. In a variation, if there are two ormore users whose degree of matching exceeds 90 points, the face frames210 for the top two users for example may be displayed.

Referring to FIG. 13, there is shown an example in which two face frames210 a and 210 c are displayed on the left and right sides of the faceregion 200 a. For example, if user A (online ID: HANAKO) and user C(online ID: TAKAKO) are twins and are both registered users, their facesoften look alike. Therefore, the face frames 210 a and 210 c for twopersons may be displayed to allow the user to select one of the faceframes 210.

In FIG. 11(b), the face frame 210 b is relocated on the left side of theface region 200 b, the face frame 210 a overlapping the face region 200b of user B. The face frame processing unit 116 may set the position ofthe face frame 210 such that not only the overlapping between the faceframes 210 but also the overlapping between the face frame 210 a and theface region 200 b, namely, the face frame 210 of one user and the faceregion 200 of another user are avoided. In this case, the face frameprocessing unit 116 displays the face frame 210 a on the right side ofthe face region 200 a, thereby avoiding the overlapping between the faceframe 210 a and the face region 200 b.

In addition, it has been described with reference to the embodiment thatthe face frame processing unit 116 displays the face frame 210 once forone registered user; it is also practicable to display the face frame210 twice or more in order to secure the confirmation of loginintention. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, if, after the face frameprocessing unit 116 displays the face frame 210 a on the left side ofuser A, the face authentication unit 114 detects that the face image ofuser A is included in the face frame 210 a, then the face frameprocessing unit 116 may display the face frame 210 a again on the rightside of user A. At this moment, if the face authentication unit 114detects that the face image of user A is included in the face frame 210a displayed on the right side of user A, the login processing unit 120lets user A log in. Thus, displaying twice or more the face frame 210 aat different positions with respect to the face position of user A bythe face frame processing unit 116 and detecting the face image of userA in each of the face frames 210 a by the face authentication unit 114enable the login processing unit 120 to surely allow user A having theintention of login to log in.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

1 . . . Information processing system, 4 . . . Output apparatus, 7 . . .Camera, 10 . . . Information processing apparatus, 20 . . . Main powerbutton, 102 . . . Input receiving section, 104 . . . Image capturesection, 110 . . . Login controller, 112 . . . Taken-image display unit,114 . . . Face authentication unit, 116 . . . Face frame processingunit, 118 . . . Priority determination unit, 120 . . . Login processingunit, 130 . . . Registered user information holding section

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is applicable to processing apparatuses configuredto execute user face recognition.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatuscomprising: a taken-image display circuit operating to display a takenimage on a display; a registered user information holding circuitoperating to hold face identification data of registered users, the faceidentification data for each registered user including indiciaidentifying such registered user; a face authentication circuitoperating to detect a face image of a registered user existing in thetaken image by use of the face identification data held in theregistered user information holding circuit; and a face frame processingcircuit operating to display: (i) a face frame on the display for thedetected registered user, such that the face frame is displayedproximate to, but not completely framing, an image of the face of thedetected registered user, and (ii) the indicia identifying the detectedregistered user in association with the face frame, wherein the faceauthentication circuit detects that the face image of the registereduser is included in the face frame by use of the face identificationdata held in the user information holding circuit, wherein the faceframe processing circuit operates to determine whether the detectedregistered user moves the face frame and the image of the face of thedetected registered user relative to one another to completely frame theimage of the face of the detected registered user, and wherein the faceauthentication circuit activates a login procedure in response to thedetermination being in the affirmative.
 2. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the face frame processingcircuit arranges the face frame such that this face frame is partiallyoverlapped with the face image of the registered user displayed on thedisplay.
 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,wherein, if face frames are displayed for a plurality of registeredusers, the face frame processing unit displays a plurality of faceframes such that the plurality of face frames are not overlapped witheach other.
 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the face frame processing circuit determines a size of theface frame in accordance with a size of the face image of the detectedregistered user.
 5. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein, if face frames are displayed for a plurality ofregistered users, the face frame processing unit restricts the number offace frames to be displayed to a predetermined value.
 6. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: apriority determination circuit operating to determine a priority indisplaying face frames for a plurality of image-taken registered users,wherein the face frame processing circuit displays face frames inaccordance with the priority determined by the priority determinationcircuit.
 7. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a login processing circuit operating to, when theface authentication unit detects that a face image of a registered useris included in a face frame, let this registered user log in.
 8. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if amovement of the face of a registered user is not a login operation, theface frame processing circuit makes a face frame follow the movement ofthe face of the registered user and displays the face frame accordingly.9. A non-transitory, computer readable storage medium containing acomputer program, which when executed by a computer, causes the computerto carry out actions, comprising: displaying a taken image on a display;storing face identification data of registered users, the faceidentification data for each registered user including indiciaidentifying such registered user; detecting a face image of a registereduser existing in the taken image by use of the face identification data;displaying a face frame on the display for the detected registered user,such that the face frame is displayed proximate to, but not completelyframing an image of, the face of the detected registered user;displaying the indicia identifying the detected registered user inassociation with the face frame; determining whether the detectedregistered user moves the face frame and the image of the face of thedetected registered user relative to one another to completely frame theimage of the face of the detected registered user; and activating alogin procedure in response to the determination being in theaffirmative.
 10. A method, comprising: displaying a taken image on adisplay; storing face identification data of registered users, the faceidentification data for each registered user including indiciaidentifying such registered user; detecting a face image of a registereduser existing in the taken image by use of the face identification data;displaying a face frame on the display for the detected registered user,such that the face frame is displayed proximate to, but not completelyframing an image of, the face of the detected registered user;displaying the indicia identifying the detected registered user inassociation with the face frame; determining whether the detectedregistered user moves the face frame and the image of the face of thedetected registered user relative to one another to completely frame theimage of the face of the detected registered user; and activating alogin procedure in response to the determination being in theaffirmative.